Chiropractic and Headaches
Did You Know if you suffer from headaches, a Chiropractic spinal checkup is one of the best things you can do? Headaches have many causes: strong smells; intense lights; sinus trouble; TMJ disorder; low blood sugar; high blood pressure; dental problems; ear, eye, or vision conditions; fevers; infections; tumors; seizures; alcoholic drinks; drugs; accidents and many more. Although headaches can be due to a wide variety of causes, the majority of recurrent headaches are of two types: tension headaches (also called cervicogenic headaches) and migraine headaches.
Tension Headaches/Cervicogenic Headaches
Headaches resulting from muscle tension or stress are the most common type. Typically, a tension headache is described as a constant dull ache on one or both sides of the head, with a tight band of pain around the head or behind the eyes. Tension headaches, which usually begin slowly and gradually, can last for minutes, days, or even months in chronic cases. Although the pain can be severe, these headaches are typically not associated with other symptoms such as nausea or vomiting.
Subluxations, from stress or posture, in the upper back and neck are the most common cause of tension headaches. The rectus capitis posterior minor (RCPM) muscle, located in the upper neck, attaches to the dura mater, or protective covering, that covers the brain. Although the brain cannot feel pain, the dura mater is very pain-sensitive. Therefore, when a neck subluxation causes this muscle to go into spasm, it stresses the dura mater, causing a headache.
Migraine Headaches
Migraines are intense and throbbing headaches that are often associated with nausea, sensitivity to light or noise, and an aura. They can last from as little as a few hours to as long as a few days. Migraine sufferers usually have their first attack before age 30 and they tend to run in families.
Migraine headaches are caused by a constriction of the blood vessels in the brain, followed by a dilation of blood vessels. During the constriction of the blood vessels there is a decrease in blood flow, which is what leads to the visual symptoms that many people experience. Once the blood vessels dilate, there is a rapid increase in blood pressure inside the head. It is this increased pressure that leads to the pounding headache. Each time the heart beats it sends another shock wave through the carotid arteries in the neck up into the brain.
No one really knows why the blood vessels constrict in the first place, but we do know there are a number of things that can trigger migraines, such as lack of sleep, stress, flickering lights, strong odors, changing weather patterns and several foods; especially foods that are high in an amino acid called ‘tyramine.’ Simply by making lifestyle changes, you can reduce the likelihood of migraine headaches.
Avoid Headache Triggers
Stress may be a trigger, but certain foods, odors, menstrual periods, and changes in weather are among many factors that may also trigger headache. Emotional stresses such as depression, anxiety, frustration, letdown, and even pleasant excitement may be associated with developing a headache. Keeping a headache diary will help you determine which factors have any relationship to your headache pattern.
Exposure to certain toxins can result in a dull, pounding headache. Nitrite is found in such products as heart medicine and dynamite, but is also used as a chemical to preserve meat. Hot dogs and other processed meats containing sodium nitrite can cause headaches. Consuming MSG, a flavor enhancer found in soy sauce, meat tenderizer, and a variety of packaged foods, can result in headache.
Foods, such as ripened cheeses (cheddar, brie), chocolate, or pickled and fermented foods, which are high in the amino acid tyramine should be avoided also.
The Chiropractic Approach
Medication will treat the pain but you need to deal with the underlying cause. Chiropractic is a safe, gentle, drugless method that has helped millions of headache sufferers over the years. However, Chiropractic is not a headache treatment. Chiropractors are experts in checking your spine for subluxations and misalignments, which interfere with the function of your nerve system and have the power to destroy your health. Without subluxations your body works more efficiently and functions at its maximum potential.
Numerous research studies have shown that Chiropractic adjustments are very effective. A 2001 report by Duke University found that Chiropractic adjustments “resulted in almost immediate improvement for those headaches that originate in the neck, and had significantly fewer side effects and longer-lasting relief of tension-type headache than commonly prescribed medications.” These findings support an earlier study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics that found spinal manipulative therapy to be very effective for treating tension headaches. This study also found that those who stopped Chiropractic treatment after four weeks continued to experience a sustained benefit without side effects, in contrast to those patients who received pain medication.
These studies confirm what most chiropractors and their patients have already known; Chiropractic is one of the most effective avenues of health for headache sufferers. Millions are learning to turn to the natural Chiropractic approach to health to avoid side effects, correct the cause of their headaches, and most importantly, to benefit from a healthier nervous system.
Headache Trigger Points
Trigger point therapy for headaches tends to involve four muscles: the Splenius muscles, the Suboccipitals, the Sternocleidomastoid (SCM) and the Trapezius.
The Splenius muscles are comprised of two individual muscles – the Splenius Capitis and the Splenius Cervicis. Both of these muscles run from the upper back to either the base of the skull (splenius capitis) or the upper cervical vertebrae (splenius cervicis). Trigger points in the Splenius muscles are a common cause of headache pain that travels through the head to the back of the eye, as well as to the top of the head.
The Suboccipitals are actually a group of four small muscles that are responsible for maintaining the proper movement and positioning between the first cervical vertebra and the base of the skull. Trigger points in these muscles will cause pain that feels like it’s inside the head, extending from the back of the head to the eye and forehead. Often times it will feel like the whole side of the head hurts, a pain pattern similar to that experienced with a migraine. 
The Sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle runs from the base of the skull, just behind the ear, down the side of the neck to attach to the top of the sternum (breastbone). Although most people are not aware of the SCM trigger points, their effects are widespread, including referred pain, balance problems and visual disturbances. Referred pain patterns tend to be deep eye pain, headaches over the eye and can even cause earaches. Another unusual characteristic of SCM trigger points is that they can cause dizziness, nausea and unbalance.
The trapezius muscle is the very large, flat muscle in the upper and mid back. A common trigger point located in the very top of the Trapezius muscle refers pain to the temple and back of the head and is sometimes responsible for headache pain. This trigger point is capable of producing satellite trigger points in the muscles in the temple or jaw, which can lead to jaw or tooth pain.
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